Softball | 3/31/2025 7:56:00 PM

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The Cloud County Community College softball team split its home doubleheader against Kansas Wesleyan University JV on Monday, March 31, falling 6-0 in seven innings in game one before bouncing back to take the second game 13-5 in five innings.

The T-Birds racked up 11 hits in game two. After giving up an early run in the top of the first inning, Cloud County scored 12 unanswered runs and took a 12-1 lead into the fourth. Kansas Wesleyan attempted to extend the game by scoring one run in the fourth and three runs in the fifth inning, but once the bottom half of the fifth rolled around, sophomore Camille Stauffer delivered an RBI single to center field to score freshman Maliyah Koster, capturing the run rule walk-off hit.

Cloud County's offense got started early with freshman Emalee Johnson notching a one-out double to center field, driving in freshman Bella Santin and sophomore Harley Smith to put the T-Birds in front 2-1.

The offense exploded in the second, with the T-Birds batting through the entire lineup before recording its first out of the inning. Johnson, Stauffer and sophomore Shaylee Keslar each had RBI hits, and the first eight batters of the inning all scored, putting Cloud County up 10-1.

Freshman pitcher Berkleigh Curtis retired Kansas Wesleyan in order in the second and third frames. Curtis earned her first win of the season in the circle, pitching all five innings and allowing five runs, four earned, on six hits wth three strikeouts.

In the third, Koster drew a two-out walk while Johnson doubled to left field for her third hit of the game. Freshman Lilly Ellison drove Koster home on a single to center field, and Johnson scored on a defensive error to make it a 12-1 ballgame.

Kansas Wesleyan scored four runs over the next two innings, beginning with an RBI single to center by freshman Belle Kraai in the top of the fourth inning. Freshman Makenna Haas reached on an error and scored a run to lead off the top of the fifth, while freshman Katelynn Hendricks added an RBI double and freshman Taylor Riffel and freshman Morgan Rasmussen each scored a run to cut the deficit to 12-5.

The T-Birds won the game on a two-out walk-off in the bottom of the fifth. Koster led off the inning with a single to center field. After a ground out by Johnson and a strikeout by Ellison, Stauffer delivered the game winning hit with an RBI single to center, snapping Cloud County's eight-game losing streak.

Johnson led the offense with a 3-for-4 performance with two doubles, two runs scored and three RBI. Stauffer had two hits and two RBI. Keslar went 2-for-3 with a double, one run scored and one RBI. Koster was 1-for-2 with three runs scored. Garcia and Ellison each had RBI hits and scored one run apiece. Santin had one hit and two runs scored, while Smith and sophomore Madeline "Maddie" McIntire each had a run scored.

The game two win was huge for Cloud County, after the T-Birds struggled to score any runs in their 6-0 loss in the opener. The contest marked the third consecutive shutout loss for Cloud County.

Starting off quickly, the Coyotes scored one run in the first inning when Rasmussen led off the game with a stand-up double to left before scoring on a defensive error. Kansas Wesleyan added two more runs in the top of the third on a double to left-center by Riffel, scoring Hendricks and junior Madisyn Havenstein.

Cloud County was limited to one hit through the first three innings and were retired in order in the second and third frames.

Kansas Wesleyan added another run in the top of the fourth when senior Rosalie Alvarado singled home Rasmussen.

The T-Birds were close to scoring in the fourth and sixth innings, collecting two hits in each frame, but they were never able to close the gap, leaving all runners stranded at the end of both innings.

The Coyotes capped the scoring with an RBI triple to left field by freshman Graycen Partlow to score sophomore Takara Kolterman, before Partlow scored on a passed ball, making the final score 6-0.

Johnson had another multi-hit game with two singles in the loss. Santin added a double, while Koster and Smith had one hit each.

The T-Birds will continue its homestand against No. 18 Neosho County Community College in Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference play on Thursday, April 3. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 pm from the CCCC Softball Field.